Relativity founder Ryan Kavanaugh paid himself $ 2.6 million after the company emerged from bankruptcy in 2016, even as the company failed to pay bankruptcy fees or file tax returns, according to the U.S. trustee’s office. The trustee has raised objections to Relativity’s latest bankruptcy filing, which came last month. In court papers, the trustee’s office […]

Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, received a 2017 pay package of $ 70 million-plus, ranking him second among CEOs at S&P 1,500 companies, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.WSJ.com: US Business

The chairman of meatpacking giant JBS has told prosecutors he made millions of dollars of illegal payments to Brazilian President Michel Temer and his predecessors, Dilma Rousseff and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.WSJ.com: US Business

The show was initially titled “Generation KKK,” but A&E changed it to make it clear the film is a work of documentary journalism rather than reality-TV entertainment.

However, KKK leaders tell Variety that they each were paid hundreds of dollars in cash a day during filming to participate in fabricated scenes designed to fit a predetermined narrative of tension between Klan members and relatives who wanted to get out.

KKK leaders also say they were presented with scripted scenarios, encouraged not to file taxes on the cash payments, instructed about what to say on camera and directed to re-enact camera shoots until the production team got what it needed.

Multiple sources told Variety the production team even paid for material and equipment to make Nazi swastikas and to construct and burn wooden crosses.

One of the featured subjects, Richard Nichols, the grand dragon of a KKK cell known as the Tennessee White Knights of the Invisible Empire, said producers encouraged him to use the word “n****r” when being interviewed.

“We were betrayed by the producers and A&E,” Nichols said. “It was all made up ― pretty much everything we said and did was fake and because that is what the film people told us to do and say.”

The Huffington Post reached out to TIJAT but has received no response. The company had issued a statement to TheWrap.com.

“We take these allegations very seriously and in partnership with A&E we will be looking into them fully,” the statement said. “We fully expected opposition from hate organizations who wish to disparage this series.

“We have been told that participants in the series have received threats and coerced into speaking out against the authenticity of the show.”

The company also addressed A&E’s decision to cancel the series before the airdate:

“We had many many long conversations about how to tackle this subject matter, and we are proud of the program we made. We feel the backlash over the announcement of this series has led to a shoot the messenger mentality.”

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Andy Cohen, the host of Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live” and the network’s popular “Real Housewives” reunions, shared his unexpected path to on-air success. “I wanted to be on TV,” Cohen told RuPaul and a packed audience at Santa Monica High School for Live Talks L.A. “I originally wanted to be on TV and be able… Read more »

If you're the FBI, and Apple refuses to assist you, how do you crack open a locked iPhone? Apparently, the same way as everyone else (provided you have sufficient funds): You pay professional hackers to do it. According to a report by theWashington Post, published Tuesday, the agency managed to crack open the iPhone 5C that was used by San Bernardino gunman Syed Farook by paying a one-time fee to an unnamed group of hackers. SEE ALSO: FBI ‘pretty confident’ iPhone hack only works on iPhone 5C with iOS 9 The hackers defeated the device's security by using a previously undiscovered security flaw in the iPhone's software. This flaw was then used to create a hardware device that helped open the iPhone without triggering the security feature that erases all of its data after too many unsuccessful login attempts. While the hackers aren't identified in the report, people familiar with the matter told the Washington Post it was not the Israeli firm Cellebrite, as previous reports have claimed. Furthermore, at least one of the hackers involved is considered to be a "gray hat," a somewhat vague term which denominates hackers who tread the fine line between ethical and unethical hacking. The vulnerability used to crack open the iPhone 5C probably works only on that model, and only if it's running the iOS 9 version of Apple's mobile platform, making it a fairly limited security issue for users. While that solves FBI's problem in this case, the question remains: Should the agency now publicly disclose the nature of the security flaw used to hack into the iPhone? According to FBI Director James Comey, who addressed the issue in a speech on Encryption and Surveillance at Kenyon College last Wednesday, the agency is "considering" it. “It’s an interesting conversation because, we tell Apple, they fix it and then we’re back where we started from,” he said.

In our Money Mic series, we hand over the podium to people with controversial views about money. These are their views, not ours, but we welcome your responses.

Today, one man recounts the moment he realized that he and his wife were drowning in debt, and how digging themselves out transformed their finances, their marriage — and his calling in life.

Before tying the knot in 2008, my wife, Kim, and I never discussed money.

It wasn’t an intentional choice to be secretive — we just never prioritized sharing details about our income, spending habits, or debt when we were dating.

But I had financial skeletons in my closet. With $ 18,000 in student loans and another $ 18,000 from an auto loan, I brought a significant amount of debt into our marriage.

I guess I didn’t worry about fessing up to Kim because I wasn’t too concerned myself. I figured, with a little discipline, I’d get around to paying it off at some point.

What did alarm me, however, was an incident that happened shortly after our wedding.

In the course of one month, Kim charged $ 600 of new clothing and designer handbags to our joint credit card — a fact I discovered while looking over the statement one day.

I was truly shocked, and it got me thinking: Did we have a spending problem?

What I realized, after taking a closer look at our finances, is that it wasn’t just Kim who was threatening our financial wellbeing. In just a few months’ time, we’d run up a $ 7,000 balance on our credit cards, thanks to a combination of Kim’s shopping, my overspending on everyday expenses and our $ 1,400 honeymoon cruise.

When I combined that balance with my own debt and Kim’s outstanding $ 9,000 in student loans, I realized we were on the hook for $ 52,000 — plus another $ 350,000 for our mortgage.

At the time, Kim was just kicking off her career as a high school teacher, and I was selling flooring. Our combined annual income landed at just around $ 70,000 — and we had no savings to speak of.

Seeing the numbers in black and white was anxiety-inducing, to say the least. How had we mismanaged our money so badly? And, more importantly, what did this mean for our future?

Prior to tallying up our debt, we’d talked about traveling internationally, starting a family and, some day, retiring comfortably. There was so much we wanted out of life, but basic math showed us we’d never manage to make progress on our goals while carrying this $ 52,000 weight.

I knew it was time to get real — and Kim agreed. So we started hashing out a plan that would put us on the path to financial freedom.

Trimming, Selling and Communicating — Our Debt-Repayment Plan of Attack
Whether it’s money, business or any other area of expertise, I’ve always been a big believer in drawing upon others’ success.

So I set out to find inspiration from people who knew a thing or two about money management, devouring personal finance blogs and books for strategies on getting out of debt. We also enrolled in a 13-week personal finance class through our church, which focused on how to better manage money as a couple.

The first thing we did was write down all of our assets, debts, income and expenses on one sheet of paper to see the big picture — and immediately realized we needed to slash our expenses.

Next, I painstakingly reviewed every line item in our budget, and found a lot of opportunities to save. I negotiated our Internet bill to under $ 20 and canceled our cable package, freeing up another $ 70 a month. We also scaled back restaurant visits to just a few times a month and started clipping coupons.

Believe it or not, these measures put an extra $ 400 to $ 500 in our pockets each month that we could throw toward debt repayment.

And we didn’t stop there. We also took steps to bring more money in.

I started with my brand-new Nissan Altima, which I sold for $ 16,000 and replaced with a 12-year-old used car for $ 2,500. Sure, the passenger-side door didn’t open from the outside, but I was bettering our financial picture — and that made it worth it.

Selling large household odds and ends online — like our Nintendo Wii and a few of Kim’s designer purses — also became part of our routine. And Kim completed some professional development coursework that resulted in a $ 1,500 raise.

Any time extra money fell in our lap — whether through a pay boost, a hefty tax return, or an item sold online — we automatically earmarked it for debt repayment. Once the momentum was in full swing, we were putting anywhere from $ 1,000 to $ 5,000 a month toward our debt.

To stay on track, Kim and I had weekly money talks to review a comprehensive spreadsheet we’d made detailing our finances from month to month. Clicking from one tab to the next, we could literally see our debt gradually shrinking — which served as a powerful visual reminder of our progress.

These weekly money dates also allowed us to hash out problems — like disagreements over how much to spend on entertainment — and encouraged us when we were feeling down.

I remember a few months when we didn’t make as much progress because I hadn’t earned as much commission from work. But talking through such issues reenergized us to keep going, making our relationship even stronger.

Finally, after 18 months, we crossed over the finish line — and became debt-free.

The Debt-Free Life: 5 Years and Counting
About four and a half years have passed since Kim and I began the new, financially-free chapter of our lives.

After climbing out of the hole, we prioritized building up our emergency fund to $ 15,000, which was about five months’ worth of expenses — and started saving for a big international trip we’d dreamed about.

After socking away $ 300 a month for two years, we finally embarked on a two-week trip to Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia. The best part: The vacation was 100 percent paid in cash.

As simple as it sounds, that’s probably the biggest lesson I learned from our financial journey: You can’t spend more than you make. It’s an obvious rule of thumb, but it was something Kim and I needed to learn the hard way.

Speaking of income, a happy result of our experience is that I’m now generating two to three times more money than I was when we were swallowed in debt… as a financial planner.

It feels great to come full-circle, using my skills and passions in a way that generates income — and helps both us and others work toward financial security.

Today, Kim and I have about $ 20,000 set aside for retirement, on top of our $ 15,000 emergency fund. We also have another $ 5,000 designated for travel and gifts, so we aren’t blindsided by baby showers and birthdays.

What’s more, after significantly paying down the mortgage on our condo, we sold it toward the end of 2014. Between our equity and an extra $ 8,000 we’d saved on our own, we were able to put a 20 percent down payment on a larger home.

And we’re going to need that extra space — our first child is due at the end of this month.

Prepping for parenthood got me thinking about what it really means to be a good example. My parents, who are divorced, both individually filed for bankruptcy — so you could say I didn’t have the strongest money role models. But when it comes to raising my own children, teaching better money habits is a priority.

And knowing that I took control of my own finances, broke the debt cycle, and forged a new path for my family empowers me to do so.

LearnVest Planning Services is a registered investment adviser and subsidiary of LearnVest, Inc., that provides financial plans for its clients. Information shown is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended as investment, legal or tax planning advice. Please consult a financial adviser, attorney or tax specialist for advice specific to your financial situation. Unless specifically identified as such, the individuals interviewed or quoted in this piece are neither clients, employees nor affiliates of LearnVest Planning Services, and the views expressed are their own. LearnVest Planning Services and any third parties listed, linked to or otherwise appearing in this message are separate and unaffiliated and are not responsible for each other’s products, services or policies.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.